Poker Pals, the asynchronous multiplayer poker/Scrabble hybrid released late last year, is about to be reborn. Better, faster, stronger than it was before.

The big new feature is the new Epic game mode. This takes place on an 11x11 game board, with two decks of cards coming into play. Jokers are no longer static corner cards in this mode; now they are actually playable cards that users can play. As well, 2x and 3x hand multiplier squares are available to make that great hand really sting.

On the technical side of things, the update will support the iPad Retina Display. Account creation and sign-in will be easier, with the ability to sign in via Twitter and Facebook along with email. Accounts will still synchronize across devices. It'll be easier to plan out future moves while waiting for an opponent to make their move as well.

The update will be releasing in a few weeks, though we don't have a date we can share yet. The iPhone/iPod touch version of the game is going to shift to a single free-to-play universal app, with the iPad version and both free versions of the game being removed from the App Store. However, all previous users, including those of the free version, will get free upgrades to the full version of the new app when they download it.